The practice of providing stick-type products has heretofore presented various problems involving the type of dispenser to be used in connection therewith. In accordance with one conventional approach, the dispenser includes an upstanding vertical wall, a closed bottom, and an open mouth. A support plate within the dispenser is dimensioned for close fit with the interior surface of the dispenser, which can be any shape, such as circular or elliptical. The dispenser is further fitted with means for moving the support plate along the axis of the dispenser to any desired position within the dispenser. Such moving means typically comprises a threaded rod centrally located within the dispenser, the rod being attached to a knurled knob outside the dispenser in a manner such that the knob and rod can be rotated about their common axis but cannot move along that axis. The support plate is provided with a threaded hole which threadedly receives the rod in such a manner that rotation of the knob raises or lowers the plate as the user desires. This type of dispenser is filled by assembling the dispenser, the knob and rod assembly, and the plate, with the plate at its lowermost position within the dispenser, and the product to be dispensed is then poured into the open mouth of the dispenser in its molten state so as to fill the dispenser. In view of the close fit between the plate and the inside surface of the dispenser, the dispenser is filled from the surface of the plate to the top of the dispenser. When the dispenser is filled in this way, as the molten product cools, its upper surface takes on a concave shape. This is relatively unsightly, wastes space at the top of the dispenser, and is uncomfortable to the user upon the first application from a fresh stick as the edge of the solidified product forms a relatively sharp corner which can be uncomfortable to the user's skin. One expedient for resolving this problem is to reheat and cool the top of the solidified product repeatedly, but besides being cumbersome and expensive this expedient can lead to a loss of homogeneity of the product.
In accordance with an alternate method, the knob and rod assembly is removed prior to the commencement of the filling operation, leaving an opening in the otherwise closed bottom of the dispenser. With the dispenser inverted (i.e., with its bottom end up), the filling operation is carried out through the opening in the bottom of the dispenser. At the completion of the filling operation, the rod of the knob and rod assembly would be inserted into the dispenser through the opening in the bottom thereof. One disadvantage of this method is that an 0-ring or some equivalent type of sealing member must be employed in order to seal the opening in the bottom of the dispenser.
Another alternative for providing stick-type products is to form a dispenser in which the bottom as well as the mouth are open. Then, a dome or cap is placed on the open mouth of the dispenser, and the dispenser is inverted and filled through its open bottom. The bottom is then closed by insertion of an appropriate mechanism capable of sealing the bottom and of lifting the solidified product out of the mouth of the dispenser. This type of dispenser is undesirable because it requires the utilization of a special lifting mechanism which can be relatively expensive and it creates the potential for weight loss of volitile products due to the difficulty of creating a seal.